15x9 Advani storm S1s wrapped in fresh 225/45/15 RS3s. So....much....grip. I ended up getting a new set of tires so they will have even wear and they will al have the same level of grip. I may pick up another set of rims in the late future and use the used tires on those for dd, and then once the new tires are done, ill put slicks on these rims.

MRLS was a blast this year. I was there Saturday only. I signed up for D group back when registration opened because it was the only group that was available. Next year I am going to sign up for B group for sure. It seemed I was just too fast for D or C. Nevertheless, I had fun.

Front straight

Dippin into the corkscrew.

The corkscrew

Me and the car behind me in this photo were playing a game of cat and mouse my second session. Tons of fun. This is t5

Exit of t4

I got a chance to meet Greg from TheCarPassionChannel. I ended up giving him a ride along in my last session. We talked for a while after too. Here is the link to his video, my part starts at about 13:14.

Here is the footage from my last session. The track was getting a little slippery as temps were dropping. Despite this, it was this session that I was able to set my fastest lap. This tells me that I improved as a driver thought the day. Im very pleased with that. Next time I'm at laguna I want to shoot for mid-low 40s. I was almost able to break the 1:50 mark I think. I had no lap timer so I just timed my laps off the footage. Let me know if any of you guys have any tips or recommendations.

Ive also been contemplating removing the rear sway bar. The car feels very balanced, but at the limit the rear will step out before the front pushes. Im just afraid that if I remove the rear bar completely that the car will understeer like a bitch. So, I may just add rear downforce via blackbird fabworx wing. What do you guys think?

This is how I ghetto rigged the catch can (temporary spot). I think I set it up wrong. Its just connected to the PCV valve and is VTA. Probably gonna get flamed. hehe

I picked up Ian's 2" singular brake ducts in hopes that they might prolong the life of my track pads.

What track pads you ask? Well, I got myself some hawk DTC60s for the front, DTC30s for the rear, and ATE Super Blue fluid for my foot.

And last but not least I scored these manely rods, unknown bearings, arp hardware, and weisco pistons all for $180! But here is the ketch... all the pistons and berings are toast. So, I got rods and ARP hardware for $180. Sill a good deal. Even better if you use the pistons as art. Apparently what happened was the CAS rotated and the rest is history.

WARNING: WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE MAY CAUSE VOMITING, CRYING, DEPRESSION, OR SUICIDAL THOUGHTS OR ACTIONS. VIEWERS DISCRESSION IS ADVISED!

Piston 1:

Piston 2:
slight scoring

Piston 3:

Piston 4:

1 side of bearings:

Here are the rods. Zero damage.

ARP bolts (I should be able to re-use these right?):

I got some nice juice for the build too:

I still need to swap out my stock pads and rotors for a new set. The pads are glazed over from the track and my rotors are slightly warped.

Technically, in order to reuse rod bolts you need to have the measurements from before they were torqued, so that you can re-measure them and determine if they've stretched beyond their elastic limit. I think machine shops will usually give you the measurements when they assemble a motor for you (dunno, I've done it myself the two times I've built bottom ends), so you might ask the PO if he's got a set of measurements. Hopefully you've got it marked as to which bolt came out of which hole in the motor?

If not, then you're taking a risk by reusing them. I think rod bolt failures are usually due to tensile loading rather than compressive loading, and detonation is more about compression, so that would argue that as long as they were torqued properly (ideally with a rod bolt stretch gauge, not a torque wrench) they should be fine.